Reflectors
By Eric Aseo
Jan. 23- 28, 2017 Vanguard OPINION 7
Vintage View
By Prof. Rolly Borrinaga
A testament to Padre Gaspar’ s legacy
( The only historical marker so far of the then National Historical Institute, now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines( NHCP), in Biliran Province was the one installed at the Bantayan ng Biliran in Biliran town. The unveiling ceremony was held on September 10, 2008, or nine years ago. Here was my speech at the affair.)
Today’ s unveiling ceremony for this historical marker at the Bantayan ng Biliran marks the formal recognition by the National Historical Institute( NHI) and the history community of a distinct and significant contribution of our province to the history of Eastern Visayas and of the country.
Let me read to you my English translation of the marker’ s Tagalog text. It says:
“ Watchtower of Biliran
“ Erected on this hill [ upon his initiative ] by Father Gaspar Ignacio de Guevara [,] including the church and fort that served as sanctuary of the faithful, 1765- 1774. [ The ] only remnants when this area was burned by Moro pirates, 1774. Used in [ the ] propagation of communal religion in Biliran,
Reflectors
By Reynaldo B. Almenario
The column of Ernesto M. Ordoñez headlined, Leyte: Agriculture cuts poverty rate, in the Philippine Daily Inquirer( Jan. 13, 2017) is intriguing. He reports that the poverty level in the province dropped to 23 percent in 2015 from 31 percent in 2012, or a decline of 8 percent over a period of just 3 years, the midyear of which was battered by super typhoon Yolanda.
“ How did this happen,” Ordoñez asks. And the incumbent Leyte governor, Dominick Petilla, says agriculture did it.
Off hand, that is a welcome news. But it is mindboggling as well. Is it in the nature of Leyteños to get out of poverty that fast? Yolanda struck in November 2013, adversely affecting all sectors of the economy: agriculture and fisheries, trade and industry, services. That means it took only 2 years, 2014-2015, for the poor residents to rebuild their homes and livelihoods and beat poverty within that short span of time. Truly,
Leyte and Samar. Example of architecture made of corals and stone during the time of the Spaniards. Rehabilitated, 2000.”
Until the early 1970s the tales about Padre Gaspar, who was accorded the status of a saint and prophet by old folks of this town, were dismissed as myth or legend and his legacy was degraded as superstition by schooled people and sectors outside of this town.
However, the myth converted to history in the early 1970s when the late Fr. Cantius J. Kobak, OFM, an American Franciscan missionary and historian formerly assigned in Calbayog, Samar, unearthed in the Philippine National Archives the appointment papers of Don Gaspar Ignacio de Guevara, dated October 10, 1765, as curate of San Juan Nepomuceno Parish in Biliran.
In my research, I had attributed to Padre Gaspar the leadership of what I called the“ Biliran Religious Revolt” from 1765-1774. I consider this event as probably the most successful native revolt against the Spanish regime in the Philippines in terms of impact and future influence, although it is not yet included in our history textbooks. The commune established by Padre Gaspar in Biliran also seems to have been the Asian equivalent of the famous Jesuit-inspired experiment in commune society living among the Guarani Indians of Paraguay, in South America, around the same period.
Padre Gaspar’ s legacy gave women the virtual monopoly as worship leaders in performing novena prayers for the dead and related religious rituals in Leyte and Samar. And his experiment in communal religion provid-
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Declining poverty incidence in Leyte?
that feat is one for the Guinness world records.
But as I said, that is mind-boggling. Indeed, can an agricultural province where residents are largely dependent on coconut and rice ever rise that quick from the monumental devastations wrought by Yolanda, and even beat poverty after only two years?
Let’ s assume coconut farmers began replanting coconut in 2014. Using early maturing varieties that bear fruit after 3 years, that means harvests can happen beginning in 2017. But while waiting for the coconut trees to grow and bear fruit, cash crops can be planted between rows and harvests can be made after 60 days at the earliest, assuming normal conditions.
On the other hand, rice farmers presumably began cultivating their farms in 2014. After 3 or 4 months, harvests can be made, again assuming normal conditions, sans the vagaries of the weather. Besides crops,
farmers can also raise animals and fowls within a year. And that would be additional income generated.
But there is the marketing dilemma. Characteristically, the market structure for agricultural and fishery products in this country ranges from monopsonistic( single buyer) to oligopsonistic( few buyers). Both market structures are lorded over by traders who determine product quality and control prices, leaving the small farmers virtually helpless price-takers.
In many cases, the traders also double as creditors to small farmers in dire need of cash for various reasons. This creditor-debtor relationship effectively ties the small farmer to a lopsided transaction that requires him or her to commit his / her marketable quantities to the creditor-trader at prices the latter dictates. Such is how the monopsonist trader-creditor controls supplies and prices. And such is why, despite
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Samar breeze
By Eric Aseo
Why Samar is poorer
Why is Samar island poorer than the island of Leyte? Local pundits would be quick to cite the uneven flow of resources from the national government as a possible reason. Leadership may be cited as another. But other possible reasons are worth exploring.
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson tried to answer more or less the same question in their bestselling book, Why Nations Fail. They came up with insightful answers that may help us understand poverty in the Samar provinces and the relative prosperity of Leyte island.
It’ s not culture, not the weather, nor geography that makes a country or a place poor. What determines poverty or prosperity, the book argues, is the level of inclusiveness of political institutions. Institutions are inclusive when many people have a say in decision-making and they are not when they allow the elite to dominate and exploit the rest of the citizens.
Places with more inclusive institutions are more prosperous because they provide better guarantees and incentives for enterprising citizens to invest, innovate and drive development. The authors provided empirical evidences that prove their argument. South Korea is much more prosperous than North Korea. Nogales in Sonora, Mexico, is much poorer than its border city neighbor, Nogales in Arizona, USA. All because their political institutions differ in their levels of inclusiveness.
Is this also the case of next-door neighbors Samar and Leyte islands? Is Samar island poor because political institutions are not inclusive? Are political institutions in Leyte island more
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inclusive?
The last 25 years is a good reckoning period in assessing local political institutions. In 1991, powers and resources were devolved from the national government to local governments. Immediately it put citizens in a better position to engage local political institutions, but it also made capture of these institutions easier for local elites.
In both islands, the local elites it seemed has had control of political institutions, local governments in particular. One family would wield power for three years or more, then rival families would take over, and the cycle goes on. The two islands only differ in the effectiveness of citizen engagement of elite-controlled political institutions and the extent local elites would go to stop any attempt to challenge their control.
Thus, political killings would happen in Samar island even in between elections. One has lost count of the number of fatalities that continues until now in Samar province. Seldom would one also hear over the radio of citizens challenging the judiciousness of provincial government budgets or criticizing the effectiveness of city government services. The local media perhaps has also become another institution that has fallen into the control of local elites.
In Leyte, citizen engagements of political institutions are seemingly more vibrant. One hears citizens regularly complaining about garbage collection and other services or trike drivers mobilizing to challenge a new traffic scheme. Political killings are unheard of especially in between elections and some local officials still care to ex-
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